Michael Peca

Michael Peca
Born	March 26, 1974 (1974-03-26) (age 37) Toronto, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	Vancouver Canucks (1993–1995) Buffalo Sabres (1995–2000) New York Islanders (2001–2004) Edmonton Oilers (2005–2006) Toronto Maple Leafs (2006–2007) Columbus Blue Jackets (2007–2009)
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	40th overall, 1992 Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	1993–2009

Michael Anthony "Mike" Peca (born March 26, 1974) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League (NHL). He most recently played for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL. He has also played for the Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He retired on January 19, 2010 after 13 seasons in the NHL. On August 4, 2011 he was named general manager of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres.

Personal life

Medal record
Competitor for  Canada
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
Gold	2002 Salt Lake City	Ice Hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold	1994 Czech Republic	Ice Hockey

Michael Peca's hometown is Toronto, Ontario, but moved to Ottawa to attend Canterbury High School. Peca and wife Kristin now live in Getzville, NY with their two children, son Trevor^[1] and daughter Emily.^[2][3]

Playing career

Peca began his junior career with the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) after they selected him in the first round of the 1990 player draft. He was traded to the Ottawa 67's where he blossomed into one of the leagues top offensive players. He was selected to represent Canada at the 1994 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He captained the Canadian team at the 2001 World Championships in Germany. His nickname was "Captain Crunch" because of his penchant for delivering bone-crushing open ice hits.^[4]

Peca was drafted in the second round, 40th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Peca has twice won the Frank J. Selke Trophy for being the best defensive forward, in 1996–97 and 2001–02. Peca captained the Buffalo Sabres to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999. He was a member of the gold medal-winning Canadian ice hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He was acquired by the Edmonton Oilers in a trade with the New York Islanders in exchange for Mike York.

Peca was part of the Cinderella Edmonton Oiler team that made a run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Peca had 6 goals and 5 assists in the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Peca was hip-checked by Toronto Maple Leafs' Darcy Tucker during the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs in game five of the first round.^[5] The check blew out Peca's MCL and ACL on his left knee, ending his season and delaying his entry into the 2002–03 campaign. No penalty was assessed. On July 18, 2006, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they had signed Peca as a free agent to a one-year $2.5 million contract for the 2006–07 NHL season, making Tucker and Peca teammates.

During a game against the Blackhawks on December 22, 2006, Peca collided with Chicago defenceman Jim Vandermeer in the Toronto zone with 5:17 left in the first period. Vandermeer was assessed a minor penalty and a game misconduct for the hit. Peca sustained a fractured tibia at the base of his right knee and suffered significant ligament damage. He missed the remainder of the 2006–07 season.

On August 21, 2007, Peca signed a one-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets. On October 11, 2008, Peca received an indefinite suspension (later reduced to a five game suspension) after grabbing referee Greg Kimmerly's arm in Columbus' first game of the 2008 season.^[6][7]

On January 19, 2010, Peca announced his retirement from professional hockey through NHLPA.^[8]

Contract dispute

For the 2000–01 season, Peca and the Buffalo Sabres could not agree on a contract. Peca went without a contract the entire season. Peca was later traded to the New York Islanders for Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt, where he led the Islanders to their first playoff berth in seven years.

Despite the apparent bad blood, in the summer of 2007, then unrestricted free agent (UFA) Peca told the Buffalo News that he'd be willing to come back to the Sabres. However, the Sabres' front office did not sign him despite the loss of veteran co-captain centers Daniel Brière and Chris Drury.

Awards and achievements

• Frank J. Selke Trophy winner in 1997, 2002.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1990–91	Sudbury Wolves	OHL		62	14	27	41	24		5	1	0	1	7
1991–92	Sudbury Wolves	OHL		39	16	34	50	61		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Ottawa 67's	OHL		27	8	17	25	32		11	6	10	16	6
1992–93	Hamilton Canucks	AHL		9	6	3	9	11		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Ottawa 67's	OHL		55	38	64	102	80		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Ottawa 67's	OHL		55	50	63	113	101		17	7	22	29	30
1993–94	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		4	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		33	6	6	12	30		5	0	1	1	8
1994–95	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		35	10	24	34	75		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		68	11	20	31	67		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		79	20	29	49	80		10	0	2	2	8
1997–98	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		61	18	22	40	57		13	3	2	5	8
1998–99	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		82	27	29	56	81		21	5	8	13	18
1999–00	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		73	20	21	41	67		5	0	1	1	4
2000–01	Did not play (contract dispute)
2001–02	New York Islanders	NHL		80	25	35	60	62		5	1	0	1	2
2002–03	New York Islanders	NHL		66	13	29	42	43		5	0	0	0	4
2003–04	New York Islanders	NHL		76	11	29	40	71		5	0	0	0	6
2005–06	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		71	9	14	23	56		24	6	5	11	20
2006–07	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		35	4	11	15	60		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		65	8	26	34	64		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		71	4	18	22	58		4	0	0	0	2
NHL totals				864	176	289	465	798		97	15	19	34	80
OHL totals				238	126	205	331	298		33	14	32	46	43

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	P	PIM
1994	Canada	WJC		7	2	2	4	8
2001	Canada	WC		3	1	3	4	0
2002	Canada	Oly		6	0	2	2	2
Junior int'l totals				7	2	2	4	6
Senior int'l totals				9	1	5	6	2

International play

• 1994 World Jr. Championship, Team Canada, gold medal
• 2001 World Championship, Team Canada, captain
• 2002 Winter Olympics, Team Canada, alternate captain, gold medal

References and footnotes

1. ^ http://www.mississauga.com/sports/article/935039--peca-goes-behind-the-bench
2. ^ http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/25673-Columbus-Blue-Jackets-hope-youngsters-learned-from-playoff-run.html
3. ^ http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=514192&cmpid=rss-News%20in%20English
4. ^ "Peca follows Hasek footsteps back to Buffalo". USA Today. 2002-03-11. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/stories/2002-03-11-peca-return.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
5. ^ Split reference:
   • "Game five" reference: "Leafs, Isles go into Game 6 without captains". CBC Sports. 2002-04-29. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2002/04/28/leafspreview020428.html. Retrieved 2008-01-04. 
   • "Notorious hit" reference: "Tucker keeping quiet about Islanders". CBC Sports. 2003-03-18. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2002/12/04/leafs_nyi021203.html. Retrieved 2008-01-04. 
6. ^ "Peca suspended indefinitely". NHL News. National Post. 2008-10-12. http://nationalpost.pa-sportsticker.com/default.aspx?s=nhl-news-display&nid=A90847361223787283A. Retrieved 2008-10-13. 
7. ^ "NHL bans Peca five games for grabbing referee". AFP. 2008-10-17. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iXQKzlTJTiG1UMm0vAiOhSYsYymw. Retrieved 2008-10-25. 
8. ^ "Michael Peca retires after 13 NHL seasons". NHL News. NHL. 2010-01-19. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=514168. Retrieved 2010-01-19. 

See also

• List of Buffalo Sabres players
• Captain (hockey)

External links

• Michael Peca's NHL player profile
• Michael Peca's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

Sporting positions
Preceded by Kenny Jönsson	New York Islanders captain 2001–04	Succeeded by Alexei Yashin
Preceded by Pat LaFontaine	Buffalo Sabres captain 1997–2000	Succeeded by Stu Barnes
Awards
Preceded by Sergei Fedorov	Winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy 1997	Succeeded by Jere Lehtinen
Preceded by John Madden	Winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy 2002	Succeeded by Jere Lehtinen

Note: While Peca was injured during (part of) the 1997–98 season, Donald Audette served as captain.
Additionally, Peca sat out the 2000–01 NHL season, in a contract dispute (later asking for a trade). The Sabres captaincy remained vacant, until after Peca was traded.

Persondata
Name	Peca, Michael
Alternative names	Peca, Mike
Short description	Canadian ice hockey centre
Date of birth	March 26, 1974
Place of birth	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date of death
Place of death